The present invention relates to cable connectors having a plurality of contacts for connection with a multi-conductor cable. More particularly the invention involves a cable connector which is suitable for having cables connected thereto by the insulation displacement connection method and a method for assembling a cable and the connector.
Recent progress in the design of electronic equipment has increased the demand for small size cable connectors to which cables may be easily connected. A cable assembling method known in the art as the insulation displacement connection (IDC) method is increasingly being used. The IDC assembly method allows the cables to be connected to the connector without removing the insulation coating from the cables. In IDC assembling, a connection part is provided on the connector for connection to the cable. The connection part is provided with blades which pierce through the cable coating and bite into the core wire of the cable to make electric contact therewith when the cable is pressed against the terminal. So, connection of the cable to a contact terminal for the cable is accomplished by simply pressing the cable against the contact terminal.
Various type of connectors useful for IDC assembling have been developed. These have been classified into two types. The first type, as shown in FIG. 1, uses a contact terminal 1 which is fixed to the cable 2 by crimping, and then the contact terminal is inserted into a housing 3 of the cable connector and fixed therein by known means. An example of such connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,296 of Andoh. In this type of connector, the necessary number of contact terminals 1 must be prepared for each of the connectors. Such preparation is troublesome both for vendors and users who handle many such cable connectors.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the second type of prior art connector is provided with contact terminals 1 mounted in a housing 3. The necessary number of contact terminals 1 are arranged in the housing 3 so that the trouble mentioned above with respect to the first type of connector is eliminated, and assembling of the cable 2 is accomplished simply by pressing the cable 2 into the contact terminal 1. However, in such an arrangement, the contact terminals 1 must be covered by a cover 4, because bare contact terminals are undesirable for safety reasons as well as reliability of the connector. This makes it difficult to reduce the size of the connector, and additional assembly time and equipment is required for fixing the cover 4 in position.